No training on Sunday so we went to the swimming baths. It was more like an aqua park and there were slides for the kids and a zip line over head. We had plenty to eat too, and I think Xenia is doing her best to counteract the slimming effect of Steve’s training!
It was an eventful outing too. When Ian was watching the karaoke singers, Davy and I looked over to see a tanned, darker haired figure with a leopard print mini-skirt and black thong bikini clearly showing at the back handing over a hastily scribbled phone number to Ian. Davy and I asked ourselves, is he really giving Ian his phone number? He was. We laughed. Ian didn’t. We did come to the Philippines to experience new things, but you have to draw the line somewhere!
We rounded Sunday off with a shiatsu massage. It was then that we were reminded of all the knocks and bruises we’d picked up during the week!
On Monday we has our Arnis (Eskrima/strick fighting) lesson and Master Mario took the time to let us experience the competitive sporting side of the art. It was great to watch, but I became a little more apprehensive when handed a helmet and some pads. It’s a very fast sport, and my main memory is of the “ding” that the stick made when hitting your helmet (which was a lot)! It was great fun though.
We had our last session with Steve on Monday after Arnis class. Steve finished the class by showing us the next step in Muay Thai training, just to let us know the sort of thing we would learn in the future. He also gave us an introduction to some combat/self-defence techniques. During some of the wrist locks I didn’t realise my hand could twist back so far, although I’m sure my Arnis will improve as a result!
On Tuesday we spent the day at a farm. Another fantastic day out and we got to try even more new foods, including 100% pure cocoa, grown on the farm. The chocolate was bitter, to say the least, but the day was fascinating, and we has such a laugh with our hosts. The farm was south of Davao, and it covered 5 hectares. It was breathtaking to stand at the boundary of coconut tree fields and rice fields, looking out to the rainforest covered mountains in the distance and knowing there were no towns or cities in between.
Filipino Farm
It is now Wednesday mid-morning and sadly we’re about to head home. The trip has been fantastic, Filipinos are really friendly and we’ve made some great friends here. Steve’s training has exceeded our expectations and we were really pleased to be given Moo Duk Kwan and Muay Thai certificates.
Proudly getting our certificates
We would all love to come back again although Ian says he’s shaving his head next time, partly to avoid unwanted attention, and partly because Davy was told how handsome he was a number of times. I’d like to spend more time wandering around the shopping malls, as the girls here seem to think I’m tall and handsome! Must be a glitch in the matrix…
Snacks on the farm
